Ruto's War
by HyruleCastleGatekeeper
Summary: Revised from the original story- Ruto quarrels with her friends and sparks larger conflicts between the Hylians and Zoras. Takes place when Link is young as well as the other characters. Lulu appears and is around the same age as her counterpart, Ruto.
1. Day at Zora River

**Chapter 1 – Day at Zora River**

The Princess of the Zoras, Princess Ruto had invited some of her friends to the Zora River to play with her. Among them were Princess Zelda, Malon from the Lon Lon Ranch, Lulu from the Great Bay in Termina, and Link. Ruto loved to play and especially liked having Zelda visit her home. They enjoyed walking up and down the path from the great waterfall all the way down to Hyrule Field along the banks of the Zora River. It was a new adventure every time seeing strange creatures and characters who lived in the microcosm of the river. Some days they would all go for a swim as Ruto lead the way with her spectacular abilities in the water. She and Lulu would help Zelda and Malon become better acquainted with the water as they learned how to swim. Lulu would occasionally visit Hyrule and sing for the two princesses. She was honored to have them as her audience and they loved hearing her beautiful voice.

They ran along the banks of the river while Link swam nearby. Zelda looked at the view of the nature around them and said how proud she was to some day have these lands under her rule.

Ruto scoffed and responded, "But that's only the castle. I'm princess of the water and all of the Zora River too."

"Of course you're a princess too, Ruto, but of the Zoras. My family rules the entire kingdom."

"But you can't even swim. You don't know anything about water or Zoras or anything else!"

Malon and Lulu looked on at the two arguing not sure of what to say.

Zelda said back to Ruto, "And you don't know anything about the rest of the kingdom. You live in a cave, you could never be a _real_ princess."

"I am a princess! I'm the prettiest little princess ever! You don't look like a princess with those stupid pointy ears anyway!" She shoved Zelda. Zelda struck Ruto on the head and responded,

"You have a big ugly head!" She pointed to the circular marks at the tips of Ruto's head and asked, "What are those ugly things? Is that where your _pee_ comes out?"

Ruto grabbed Zelda and threw her into the river and jumped in after her to attack. Malon and Lulu ran along the river bank aware that the current could drown Zelda and possibly land both little girls against the rocks.

"Link! Link! Zelda is drowning! Ruto threw her in the water!" Malon yelled.

Zelda was fighting for her life with Ruto. Ruto knew that Zelda couldn't last under the water and tried to hold her under. Zelda repeatedly hit Ruto in the face and head thinking that she might knock her out. She had seen Link eliminate enemies with one blow and thought that she could do the same, but she wasn't strong enough.

Link knew the river well; he had swam it many times and was sure that he could navigate the waters without crashing into the rocks and other traps that could be waiting for him. He swam as quickly as he could towards the two girls.

Lulu yelled to Ruto, "Ruto what are you doing! Stop it!" She jumped in after them leaving Malon. Malon cried out, "Lulu no! Come back, it's dangerous."

A small artificial dam had been build by fisherman to help trap fish as they came downstream. Zelda and Ruto landed in the small embankment as their bodies smashed into the little wooden poles which supported the structure. By now, neither of them even tried to fight. Zelda was coughing from the water she had swallowed and both girls had cuts from rocks and debris. Link and Lulu arrived soon after and pulled both girls from the water and onto the land. Malon came running along on the land. Both girls were coughing and breathing heavily. Ruto noticed a bucket with some fish caught by a fisherman. As she got free of Link, she took the bucket and emptied the fish onto Zelda and said, "Think you're ready to be a Zora?"

Link pushed Ruto away. The force caused her to slip on the fish oils and fall to the ground hitting her head against the rim of the bucket.

"What were you doing to her?" Lulu yelled to Ruto.

Ruto lay on the ground starting to cry as she covered her aching head with both hands. "I want my nurse!"

Link aided Zelda as she coughed up water. It would be a few minutes before they were calmed down enough to get up. Finally, Link decided to take Ruto home. He was angry with her and upset to have to walk up half the distance of the Zora River to return her home while Zelda waited with the other girls who attended to her. Link threw Ruto haphazardly into the water at the domain and yelled to her never to behave that way again. He came back for Zelda, Malon, and Lulu and took them all back home.


	2. Princess Ruto's Chamber

**Chapter 2 – Princess Ruto's Chamber**

The next day, Ruto awoke in her chamber with her head aching from all of the smashing it had taken the day before. She wailed as she felt her head. There were few bandages on her cuts. Her nurse had aided to them while she slept and a large breakfast had been prepared by her servants. Ruto walked to her mirror and looked at herself as she ran her hands over her head. The shape of the Zoran head looked strange to many Hylians. She felt around the tips of her head and thought; "this is not where my pee comes out." It reminded her of yesterday's incident and caused her to grow angry at the four of them.

"Here here little princess. I have your breakfast, specially prepared for a poor little Zora who had a rough day. This is a small feast, prepared just for you, my princess." It was her servant bringing her a grand breakfast.

Ruto said nothing, but continued to look at her head and ears in the mirror wondering if her friends really thought that about her.

"Princess ... Come and get your delicious meal." She took Ruto under her arm and walked her over to the table to sit her down for the meal.

"I don't want this! Get it out of my room!" Ruto cried.

"But Ruto, myself and the others spent all morning preparing this for you. You looked so tired when you arrived back from yesterday. What happened yesterday, Ruto?"

"Get this out of here!" Ruto motioned for the servants to remove the feast from her chamber.

They looked at each other puzzled. One of them began to lift Ruto onto the chair so that she could spoon-feed her.

"You love our meals Ruto." She said as she moved the spoon towards Ruto's mouth. "Here it is comes ... open wide ... just take small little bites–"

Ruto knocked the spoon out of her hand. "I said take it away!"

She threw her plate was thrown across the chamber. Then she got up on the table and began ruining the food, squashing the fruits, tearing the fish and throwing all of it into the shallow pool below. Soon the table was overturned and she continued to throw food at the servants. They watched in horror as Ruto ruined the feast they had prepared for her.

A few hours later another servant arrived at her chamber. "Good day, my princess."

Ruto ignored him.

"You've made quite a mess. The King is not impressed and he would like you to clean it up. All of it. It is an insult to all who have lived in this chamber before you to desecrate it as you have done. It is also an insult your attendants who prepared–"

"You clean it!" Ruto interrupted.

"The King has asked that _you_ clean it, my princess. I will not disrespect his wishes, and I know that you won't either. Now get to work."

Ruto stuck her tongue out at the servant as she approached the soggy mess in the water now polluted with the foods from her breakfast. She picked up a cantaloupe and threw it at him.

"That's quite enough. I will report your disobedience to the King. Since you're unwilling to follow his orders, I will send a group of my staff to your chamber to have it cleaned for you. They will not be happy with you and nor will your father. You will now resume your regular duties for the day. Lord Jabu-Jabu is patiently awaiting his meal. Now go to the Fountain and prepare it at once!"

"Stupid servants!" Ruto yelled as she stuck her tongue out again.

He departed angrily.

Ruto had recently begun refusing to do her duty of preparing the daily meals for Lord Jabu-Jabu. It seemed that as she got older, she began to think more of the importance of her position. She began to wonder why, she, a princess, should take orders from anyone, and why she should have to show respect to those of lesser titles. The same rules didn't seem to apply at Hyrule Castle as great walls separated the Royal Family from the commoners at the marketplace.

A few days ago, Ruto had forgotten to arrive at Zora's Fountain to feed Lord Jabu-Jabu. When she came the next day, one of the Zora servants said to her,

"Now, Ruto, you forgot to feed Lord Jabu-Jabu yesterday, and he was very hungry. I had to feed him for you and his meal was three hours late! Try to arrive timely everyday to feed the great lord. You owe your Zora heritage to him and forgetting to feed him is a clear sign of disrespect and directly against orders from your father, the King."

Ruto responded, "I don't care! Nobody gives me orders, I'll do whatever I want, because I'm a princess and you're a stupid servant!"

"That's not polite, Ruto. Respect is something all Zoras have for each other regardless of their position or title. You should be honored to have this as your duty, my princess. The other children are quite envious of you for it and their duties are of a much more mundane nature."

Ruto stuck her tongue out at the servant and went to prepare the meal. She swam around to catch two large fish from the water and placed them on a large tray in front of Jabu-Jabu. She looked at him with a stuck-up look and said, "Take it already! I shouldn't even be feeding you. I'm a pretty little princess and you're a...you're just a... big...old, and ugly whale!" She spat at him in disgust and walked away.


	3. Planning the Event

**Chapter 3 – Planning the Event  
**

Ruto, in her growing anger, wanted to get revenge on Link, Zelda, Malon, and Lulu for their disagreement with her. She went to her father and told him what was troubling her. King Zora loved to spoil his little daughter and was always so willing to do anything that she requested.

"What's the matter, my daughter? You made a mess of your chamber and have disrespected Lord Jabu-Jabu. What has gotten into you lately?"

"Daddy, I'm angry. Princess Zelda, Link, and their friends don't think that I'm a real princess. They don't show me respect as a princess." She pointed to her bandages. "Look at these cuts. Zelda threw rocks at me yesterday. She laughed and said that she was the Zora princess too." Ruto lied.

"That's terrible, my dear Ruto. I am surprised that Zelda would say and do such things to you."

"I want to humiliate them, Daddy. That's not fair what they did to me. I want to hold an event where I make them look stupid in front of everyone!"

"My dear dear Ruto, it is not my place to do anything of the sort."

"Then I will do it! I want to capture them make them look stupid here at Zora's Domain. Or even better, I want to do it at Zora Hall! That's where that stupid Lulu lives."

King Zora was not amused by the idea, "Oh my dear princess, return to your duties at once. I haven't the time for these semantics!"

"I'm not doing those duties anymore! I assigned those duties to the servants."

"That's not right, Ruto! Your attendants love you and will do whatever you ask, but they are not your slaves! I demand that you relieve them of those duties and begin your work at once or I will–"

"I am not feeding him anymore! I'm going to Zora Hall!" Ruto daringly interrupted.

"Ruto, I've heard enough." The King paused as he weighed his options of what to do with his daughter. "I will have Zora Hall reserved for your event. I do urge you to be careful in how you use it. Your attendants will make any further arrangements. But make sure that your duties are completed before night, or the event is off!"

Ruto bowed and exited without saying another word.

Ruto had plenty of preparation to do. First, she wanted to get as many Zoras as possible to be appointed as guards of for her in case something was to go wrong during the event. The guards would first assist in kidnapping the four and bringing them to Zora Hall. She wanted six Zoras to sound horns as she entered the hall. The guards would carry bows and arrows as well as spears and would be dressed in red tunics. Four of them would be positioned in the upper mezzanine areas to shoot arrows down onto the stage in the even of an escape. She searched her wardrobe for one of her finest gowns to where, choosing a blue and gold pattern with a fancy blue cape.

Ruto also drew up plans for the method she would use humiliate each person. For Link, she decided that a wooden structure would be set up towards the right center of the stage surrounded by torches. Link would hang from the hall's ceiling and be lowered by a pulley into the structure. The crowd would be given eggs to throw at Link and attempt to knock over the torches which would set the structure ablaze. The fire would be extinguished soon enough so that Link would still be alive after the show, but in hopes that green tunic would be burnt.

For Lulu, a glass tank of water would set up at the right end of the stage. It was to be filled roughly three feet deep and would rest atop a contained fire which would bring the water to a boil. Lulu would be attached to a harness and held high above the tank at the ceiling and would be lowered by a pulley into the water as it begins to boil. She would be lowered in and out of the water until she agreed that Ruto was the one and only princess and denounce Zelda's rule of the Zoras.

For Malon, cuccos would be captured and put in a pen on the stage. Malon would be held in another cage above. The cuccos would be hit and teased by the guards as the the cage would be lowered into the pen. Malon would be forced to feed the cuccos through the bars of the cage. If she did not hail Ruto as her princess, the doors would be opened and Malon would face them herself.

As for Zelda, Ruto wanted to fight her hand-to-hand on the stage. It would be the main event of the night. Of course, guards would be ready to assist if Zelda were to have the upper hand. She was so excited about her big day where she gets a chance to teach her friends a lesson.

Within the first day of preparation, she had recruited fifteen Zoras to be her guards and the six trumpeters. Her next objective was to kidnap the four victims. Ruto remembered that on Thursday evenings, she would join Link and Zelda who went over to the Lon Lon Ranch to see Malon. It would be a perfect time to capture three of them in one shot.


	4. Ambush at the Stables

**Chapter 4 - Ambush at the Stables**

Ruto sent eight of the fifteen guards to the ranch that evening. It was just after dusk and Link, Zelda, and Malon were causally sitting around in one of the stables having some snacks after having ridden the horses. They were not prepared at all for an ambush. All eight of Ruto's guards began surrounding the stable assuring that no one would escape if they were to get past the ambush. They could hear the three chatting inside. One of the guards opened a back door to the stable quietly and found three horses standing nearby and a few cuccos wandering around.

Two of the guards sneaked along the stables trying not to disturb the horses. One of them inadvertently knocked a saddle off of the saddle rack. The horse made some grunts and began to move around a bit inside its enclosure.

"Did you hear that?" Malon asked the others. "One of my horses sounded like she was startled."

Link and Zelda looked at her unsure if they had heard anything. There was no reason for them to expect an ambush, but crime was common in Hyrule Field at night and it would not be the first time that Lon Lon Ranch was robbed or burglarized. Malon had always relied on the horses as an indication that something was not right. They were calm animals and did not stir unless they had a reason to do so.

A Zoran guard peered through a window and saw that the three were getting suspicious. He whispered to the others outside the barn to get moving and that they would need to ambush now. The two in the stable had begun to back out as they heard the three coming.

"You're going to get us killed." Whispered one of the guards as they snuck out the door and closed it slowly behind them. All three of the horses were getting antsy now. Link and Malon came near the door to find the horses disturbed. Link put his hand on his sword ready to confront an intruder, but he did not see anyone in the stable. He approached the door and opened it slowly. The guards were hiding just around the corner. Link looked out and saw no sign of trouble.

"Hey Link!"

He was startled as Malon called him.

"Did you leave your saddle on the floor? Look at it."

Link shook his head. He was a true equestrian and would never leave his saddle as such. At that point, he knew there was trouble.

Seconds later the door swung open knocking him to the ground. Malon screamed as she saw four Zoras come through the door carrying spears with daggers affixed to their belts. Link got up and punched one of the guards clear in the face. The force sent the guard flying through the doors of the horse's pen scaring the horse and the others around it. It charged out of the pen nearly trampling Link. He fell to the ground as another guard picked him up and delivered a strong blow to his stomach followed by another to his jaw.

Malon yelled to Zelda who could hear the commotion from the other room.

"Zelda! We're being attacked!" One of the guards began to chase after Malon, the fourth picked up Link as he continued to fight them.

Zelda ran to a door in the other room. As she approached it, two guards knocked it down and chased her back into the stables. Zelda yelled to the others, "Help! They're in here!"

Next door, Malon's father, Talon, heard the commotion. He knew that his daughter was there with Zelda and Link and quickly grabbed his double barreled rifle ready to confront who he assumed to be bandits. The last two guards were standing nearby as Talon ran out of his house. One of guards jumped him from behind as he was about to enter the stables. Talon hit the guard with the rear of the gun. Then he swung it at the other who ducked and pushed Talon into the stables. Talon picked up the guard by his neck and threw him through him through a window to the stables. He ran towards the others with the shotgun loaded and ready.

Two of the three horses were running around the stables. One guard in pursuit of Malon was kicked by a horse and knocked to the floor. She saw Link still struggling with the others who had him outnumbered. She was standing against a rack of bottles used to bottle the ranch's famous milk. Malon grabbed two bottles and broke one over a guard's head and stabbed another with the broken glass. That was four guards down: One in the horse's pen, one outside having crashed through the window, two down on the floor in front of her. That left four others.

One guard had a hold of Zelda as the other assisted in holding her legs steady as she tried to kick them. Malon ran to her and broke another bottle over the head the guard holding Zelda from behind. Now one was left with a grip on just her legs. Zelda tugged on his fins trying to break free. Five guards down, three to go.

Talon took aim at the guard wrestling with Zelda. He was not a great marksman and was not confident in his aim with the old gun. As he hesitated, he was hit by the guard that had confronted him minutes before. He dropped the gun causing it to fire. It shot at the wooden doors of the stable causing the splinters to shatter everywhere. Link, one guard, and one horse were hit with the splinters. The guard picked up the shotgun aimed it at all of them.

"All right! Everybody get on the ground!"

They stopped. All of them went to the ground. The remaining Zoran guards stood up once they realized that the gun was in the hands of a Zora. The horses continued to scare, but began to calm.

"Anyone moves and I'll shoot her." He said with his gun pointed at the princess.

"Now tie them up and put them in the carriage." he directed the others.

The last guard standing who fought Link grabbed a horseshoe and knocked him over the head. Zelda was tied up. The guard with the gun stood Talon up and told him to go into the horse's pen with his hands up. After he tied up Malon, he tied Talon to a chair and said to him, "If anyone comes here, you tell them you were robbed for your money. You got that?"

"You despicable beings." Talon muttered.

"I'll ask you again. What are you going to tell the Royal Guard when they find you?"

"You'll never get away with this. You have the princess!"

"I'm finished with you farmer-man." said the guard as he slammed Talon over the head with the shotgun.

"All right, into the carriage with them."

They were loaded into a horse drawn carriage waiting outside in Hyrule Field. The five injured guards were loaded into the back. They were off to Zora's Domain where they would be held captive until their day at Zora Hall.


	5. Zora Hall

**Chapter 5 – Zora Hall**

Princess Ruto woke up early that morning and was diving in and out of the water in excitement of her plans to publicly humiliate Link, Zelda, Malon, and Lulu. She had her staff doubled after hearing of the struggle that her guards faced at the Lon Lon Ranch the other night. They packed up everything that Ruto would need and headed to Zora Hall for the event. Ruto dressed in a shiny blue and gold gown with cape and wanted to look her best. King Zora stayed behind still worried about the decision his daughter was making, yet was too afraid to stop her.

One hour later, they arrived at the Great Bay in a boat. They disembarked at the Zora Cape where Ruto stopped the boat and gave instructions to the guards,

"Thank you all again for coming. I know that some of you had quite a struggle to get these three here. First, I will need five of you to go inside and kidnap Lulu before we begin." She chose five guards and sent them into Lulu's room. Ruto knew that this was a good time to sneak up on Lulu, because she was usually still asleep.

The five guards kicked in the door and found Lulu fast asleep in her fountain. Two of the guards pulled her out and slapped her across the face to wake her up. Lulu awakened with a startle.  
"What's going on? Who are you?" She said in screaming.

The guard hit her in the face again and told her to shut up. They tied a cloth over her mouth to prevent her from screaming along with ropes for her arms, legs, and fins. Lulu tried to resist but it was no use. She was taken outside to the Zora Cape where Ruto was waiting with the other captives.

"Join your friends, Wu-wu." Ruto said with a smirk.

Lulu was crying, unaware of why she was being kidnapped. Ruto addressed all four of them, "Now, do you all still think I'm not so important, and I'm not so powerful, do you? Well, looks like you were wrong, because look who's tied up in a cage and look who's standing here giving the orders. It's me! Ruto!"

She yelled to her guards, "Take them inside!"

The cloth over Zelda's mouth came loose and she said, "Ruto! You don't have to do this!" Ruto ignored her.

A podium was set up at the front of the stage so that Ruto could share a few words with the crowd. The horns sounded as she entered the stage and the crowd cheered for her. She climbed up a small stool and stood atop the podium to speak,

"Thank you all for coming. We're here to teach these fools a lesson. They will learn to hail me as their one and only princess!" The crowd cheered again, but some were only cheering because they would not dare go against the wishes of their princess.

The four had been fixed to their contraptions, hanging from the ceiling by a fairly complex system of ropes, pulleys, and counterweights. Link had begun to look around wondering what he could do to get out of the mess. He thought to himself how well planned it was. There were guards everywhere on the stage. He looked up and saw them on the mezzanine too. An escape would be risky if it was even possible. The only weakness in their system might be if the guards were forced to take him down from the ceiling. If he could get his hands on something, he might be able to fight his way out of it, or at least ruin Ruto's event. His weapons had been seized; all he could do was either wait or try to swing around and cause someone to take action.

Ruto said to the crowd, "Let's see Lulu swim! This is your home Wuu-Wuu. Say hello to everyone." She ordered the guards to turn up the fire under the big tank of water and watched it heat up.

Lulu called to Link, "Link help! She's going to boil me in the water!" She started to cry.

Ruto responded to Lulu, "You're too stupid to get down! Are you crying? Aww, the wittle wu-wu cry-baby is afraid she'll get huuurt!"

The crowd laughed.

Link started swinging back and forth on the rope above his contraption. He yelled to the Ruto and the guards to stop what they were doing. The crowd gasped. They were curious as they watched Link swing back and forth alerting the balance of the pulley Link was hanging from. One of the guards grabbed his ropes to ensure that it he would remain stable.

Ruto called back. "Shut up stupid fairy-boy and wait your turn! We're taking care of Lulu now."

The guards on the mezzanine got their bows ready to fire in case Link was to try something. Ruto was beginning to grow nervous. She tried not to show it, but she knew what Link was capable. The guards who captured him at the ranch were still recovering from the fight he put up. As the water in the tank got warmer, Ruto gave the orders to begin lowering Lulu from the ceiling. It was a bit early, she wanted the water to be boiling, but didn't want to risk wasting time.

"Lower her down!"

A guard began turning a crank beginning Lulu's slow decent towards the tank.

"Oh no! No!" Lulu cried as she realized that she could do nothing to escape.

"Stop!" Link yelled to the guard. "Let go of that crank!" He spoke threateningly in attempt to intimidate the guard. "You won't get away with this!" he added.

The guard ignored Link and continued to lower the crank and began to move faster.

"Damn it! I said stop!" Link yelled once more as his frustration became too much. He started to swing violently on the rope, not just to mock Ruto, but in desperate attempt to stop what was about to happen. The crowd gasped again and became excited. Link swung from side to side on the rope, left to right, right to left.

Zelda hung from a cage above left center stage. Link thought that if he could reach Zelda's cage, she might be able to undo his harness. It was risky. Zelda was only a young child and was scared enough as it was. It would be nearly impossible for her to set him free without being shot by an arrow.

"Keep lowering!" Ruto shouted as she watched Link swing.

The tank was no longer the main attraction of moment, it was Link and whatever would happen next.

Link groaned as he swung harder getting higher each time. Finally he had reached the level of Zelda's cage and grabbed a bar with his hands.

Ruto called to the guards, "Raise Zelda higher up!"

"It doesn't go any higher." answered the guard as he checked the crank controlling Zelda's cage.

Link began to climb up the cage. He got the top and began to climb up the rope which held up the cage. The crowd became excited and was anxious to see what he would do. Lulu was now half way between the ceiling and the tank and knew that there wasn't much time. On a signal from Ruto, one of the archers on the mezzanine took a shot at Link, but he was now out of reach. The lights, ropes, and wood boards along the stage ceiling, which were used for the hall's shows and events, were in the way. There was no clear shot at him. The archer ran around the mezzanine to find a better shot.

"Can he be raised any higher up?" Ruto asked the guard.

"I can have a look."

"Well do something and do it quick!" Ruto commanded angrily.

The archer continued to shoot arrows, but they would only get stuck in the rafters, missing Link. Link thought fast and saw one of the arrows sticking out of the wood. He grabbed it just as he felt a tug as his rope was pulled back up towards the pulley. It didn't matter. Link used the arrow's tip to cut himself free. He fell a long way to the stage below as he landed partially on top of one of the trumpeters. It was a rough landing, but he was alright and ready to fight. The crowd gasped in shock.

Link stole the horn and beat the trumpeter with it. Ruto ran to one of the guards frightened and told him to protect her. Guards stormed the stage running as quick as they could to stop Link and protect Ruto from harm. The Zoran guards were terrible fighters; Link was able to knock them cold one-by-one instantly using the horn. Four of the guards who were above shooting arrows were hitting the wrong targets. One of them accidentally shot a guard instead of Link.

Ruto began to panic and said to the guards, "What are you waiting for, kill them before they get away! Just kill them already!" They left Ruto, but two stayed by her side. They wanted to take her off the stage to safety, but she refused. She was determined not to let her day be ruined by Link and she wanted to fight Zelda. The other guards quickly activated the various contraptions to lower Lulu and Malon.

"Release Zelda! Drop her to the floor ... I'm going to fight her all by myself!" Ruto commanded the guards.

By this time, the water below Lulu was boiling. Lulu could feel the hot steam as she hung from above. Link continued to fight off the guards. One of the same who was part of the ambush at the ranch tried once again to settle the score with Link. Link swung the horn as the guard bent it with his spear. Link threw the horn away and grabbed the guard's spear pushing him into the pen with the cuccos which Malon hung above. They began to scatter as the guard got up and went at Link by hand. Link threw him against the tank causing a small crack in the glass. Then he lifted the guard and threw him up into the tank of boiling water.

The guard screamed loudly as he was thrown in which prompted one of the Ruto guard's to leave her and pull the other guard out of the tank. As he did this, Link suddenly had a clear path to Ruto. He ran towards her and grabbed her other guard by the neck. He elbowed Link in the stomach, but Link took it and struck back. He grabbed a horn off the floor and delivered an even stronger blow to the chest of the guard, followed by another to the head laying him flat on the ground. Ruto started to cry and screamed for help.

"Oh no! Guards! Guards!" she cried, realizing that she could not take on Link herself. "Link, it's Ruto, your friend! Please don't hurt me!" Link tore off Ruto's cape and gown and kicked her to the stage floor. He grabbed a rope that attached to a pulley on the ceiling and tied it around Ruto's neck.

Many of the rowdy onlookers had come up onto the stage and were fighting each other, the guards, and Link. There was no one able to help Ruto. Link pulled the mechanism which caused Ruto to fly up to the ceiling only stopping when her body crashed into the pulley.

"Oohhh!" she cried in pain as her neck was squashed into the pulley practically chocking her. She was hanging near Lulu realizing that she was her only chance.

She called to Lulu with an in-pained cry, "Lulu, please help me!"

Lulu didn't want to help Ruto, but she couldn't bear to watch her suffering.

"Ok, alright Ruto, I'll help you." She tugged on her rope, pulling it down to relieve Ruto of the pressure on her neck.

Both little Zoras were dripping with sweat as they perspired from the heat of the boiling water below. Once Ruto got close enough to Lulu, she looked at her and said, "Now you're finished!"

Ruto began to punch Lulu in attempt to release her from the harness and cause her fall down into the tank. Lulu had been tricked.

"Stop it! I was trying to help you!"

Ruto saw a guard and called to him, "Hey you! Cut her rope quickly!"

Link overheard Ruto and ran over in attempt to stop the guard. The guard knocked Link to the ground and quickly ran over and cut the rope. As he pulled out his dagger, he couldn't tell which rope was which since the commotion at Zora Hall was distracting him. He cut one of the ropes unsure of which one he was cutting. He then realized that he had cut the wrong rope and caused Ruto to fall down into the boiling tank instead of Lulu.

"Nooo!" Ruto cried out loudly on her way down, but it was too late. The guard could do nothing to save his princess. Ruto entered the boiling water with a splash, her fins shriveled up and she was unable to control herself to swim to safety. The guard began to cut Lulu's rope until the thick brass of a horn smashed him over head by Link. He looked up to Lulu, assuring her that she was safe despite the rope nearly about to break.

The crowd was everywhere on the stage fighting each other and the guards. An all-out brawl was underway in the hall. One guard made an attempt at running a spear into Link. Link had jumped out of the way just in time which caused the guard to run straight into the glass of the tank. The tank's glass shattered causing the boiling water, with Ruto still in it, to pour out onto the stage. Some of crowd began to flee as the scalding hot water emptied out. Zelda and Malon were crying from the view from their cages at what was going on below, especially seeing their good friend, Link, in the middle of it. Ruto was on the floor hyperventilating and perspiring from having been in the boiling water for nearly a minute.

After another five minutes of fighting, Link had gotten his weapons back. Lulu, and Malon were still hanging from the ceiling and Zelda was still locked in her cage. Link wanted to get them down before finishing off the rest, so he took out his hook-shot and shot up to Lulu to loosen her harness and untie her. After he released her, she held onto him as he swung across to the hanging cage that Malon was held in. He put Lulu down on top of the cage and told her to hold on. Link was going to have to find a way to open the bottom of the cage without letting Malon fall into the crowd. He was able to cut out the locked area with his sword. He grabbed Malon with one hand and a bar of the cage with the other and asked Lulu to help pull Malon up. A minute later the three of them were atop the cage. He instructed Malon to hold onto Lulu tightly, and that he would hold onto them as they swung to Zelda's cage. They held on to each other and made it.

"Link, please get me out of here!" Zelda cried.

Link simply broke open her cage, saving his princess. All four of them were together at last. Dodging the crowd, he took them off the stage and brought them over to one of the side rooms and locked them in.

First, he saw Ruto on the stage floor unconscious as she was trampled by guards and members of the crowd who had long forgotten her. He fought off a few Zoras from the crowd as he made his way to pick up Ruto. She was badly hurt and needed medical attention, but there was nothing he could for her there. He brought her into a side room and grabbed a pile of snow from an icebox and used it to chill a bucket of water. He laid Ruto down gently into the water to cool her body after having been boiled. She trembled and looked up at him confused and frightened.

Zelda ran to the bucket and started hitting her injured friend asking, "Why did you do this to us? Why, stupid Ruto, why?" Ruto moaned in pain as she was hit, too weak to even scream. Link pushed Zelda away and told her to keep back. He realized that he couldn't take Ruto with them, so he took a quick look outside and noticed a few bystanders. Link quickly took Ruto who was lying in the bucket out of the room and handed it over to a woman.

"Here. Get her help." he said to her and left.

Before leaving, he climbed back onto the stage and took a dozen of his bombs and put them at the back of the shell shaped stage where the bottom and top met. He ran off the stage and took a fire arrow from his bow. He gave a clean shot to the bombs causing the entire 'shell' to close with everyone still inside it, trapping them.

Then he retrieved Zelda, Malon, and Lulu from the side room and soared off to Clock Town leaving Zora Hall in shambles and a severely injured Princess Ruto with it.


	6. Time in Clock Town

**Chapter 6 – Time in Clock Town**

Link suggested that Zelda, Malon, and he stay there for a day or two just to lay low considering the mayhem at Zora Hall. He knew that he would need to return Zelda and Malon to Hyrule soon and that Lulu would need to be taken care of until it was safe for her to return home to Zora Hall. Lulu needed to be in a place where she could be submerged in water, which would rule out the usual lodging choice of the Stock Pot Inn in East Clock Town. For the time being, he decided to take them to the Laundry Pool and stay there for the day before leaving for Hyrule.

Shortly after they arrived, Captain Viscen of the Clock Town Police approached them.

He asked Link, "Hey you in the green hat, I heard there was some trouble at Zora Hall." Link said nothing.

The Captain continued, "They're saying one of the suspects was wearing some green outfit, like the forest people. The Zoran Guard has asked that we do a sweep of the town for anyone who might have been there."

Link responded, "We were looking around town. This little Zora has never been to Clock Town before, so we're showing her around and are just stopping here for a swim."

Lulu gave a phony smile and waved to the captain. He looked back with a look of suspicion as he thought it was an odd site to see a boy in green tunic with a young Zora. They were not locals and he didn't recognize any of them.

"We may still need to take you in for questioning, especially you, little girl." He said pointing to Lulu. "Where' you from, precious? The Great Bay region?"

"I'm... I'm from Zora's Domain. Handmaiden to the Princess Ruto." Lulu lied.

Link wished that she'd hadn't, but she did.

"Princess...what did you say the name ... Princess Ruto is it?" asked the captain as he reviewed his notes.

"Princess Ruto... of the Zoras. In Hyrule."

"It's funny you should mention that, because a Zora by that name's just been found in pretty bad condition. Just brought here to the town hospital. I'm afraid we gonna have to take you in, sweetheart."

Link jumped in. "No need. We're returning to Hyrule today. To King Zora–"

"Only place ya'll returning tonight is the station with me." He motioned to another policeman. "Ya'll under arrest."

Link continued to argue. "Captain, they had no involvement in the brawl, they're little girls–"

"So you know a lot about this then too? A lot to hide from my men and the Zoras eh? Take off that belt with your weapons!"

Link unbuckled his belt and his sword fell to the ground. The other officer kicked his sword away and began to tie Link's hands together with a rope.

Just as he was about to knot the rope, Link head butted the officer. He got out of the rope and punched the officer in the stomach. While Link continued to fight him, the other girls pulled at the legs of another officer causing him to fall into the Laundry Pool. The other officer decked Link in the face knocking him to the ground and tried again to tie him up. The captain blew his whistle for help. Link knew that it was only a matter of time before they would be outnumbered. He flipped the officer over his shoulder and into the water.

Link grabbed the girls and ran out of the Laundry through the small alley. As they came to the steps outside, they encountered another policeman who asked, "Is something going on in their fellas?" Link motioned back into the alley, as the officer turned, Link kicked him causing him to fall face first down the stairs to the Laundry Pool. He ran with the girls as quick as he could into the Clock Tower where he used an old passage to get back to Hyrule. The four of them were off to Hyrule Castle where they would appeal to the King of Hyrule himself.


End file.
